Blue Ridge Subliminator DopplebockWild Goose Brewery, LLC

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Muddy and thick looking brew with a brownish purple hue. The color of this beer really looks like the colors of the cool double-goat (dopplebock) bottle. Fat and foamy two finger head with good retention...the head does go away eventually as the beer warms, but comes right back with a good swirl. Nice thick and sticky sheets of tan lace.

Tastes alot like it smells. Very malty and thick with rootbeer candy, caramel, toffee, raisins, and dates. A touch of roasty smokiness complements the alcohol warmth nicely and makes for a very cozy and warming sipper. A good hoppy grassy outdoorsy flavor adds a bitter finish and keeps the beer balanced.

Thick and chewy in the mouth. Creamy and slick on the tongue with a pretty hefty alcohol warmth, this one slides down the back of your throat and warms you from the inside. Excellent!

Drinkability is good, but this is not a session beer. I sipped this one for over an hour just enjoying the complexities and the sweet malted warmth. Outstanding!

A deep smooth brown pour with a respectable, if not long-lived, head. Aroma is nice, with a toffee hint to it at times. But I really enjoyed the sweetish, malty taste of this dopplebock. I am not a fan of a lot of the American dopplebock versions, but this hits the spot for me. I was impressed with its overall drinkability and its dedication to the style, which I think is so neglected here in the States. Perhaps we've run out of -ator endings? Nonsense. Brewers around the country could learn a thing or two from this beer, if they want to imitate the dopple. Well done.

A gift from higravity (thanks for the opportunity), reviewed from notes. Pours a one-finger tan head over a cloudy red-copper liquid. Smells caramel, tannin, and alcohol. Hint of chocolate. Tastes piercing and clean alcohol. Pineapple, pinesol, and some caramel in the aftertaste. Malt sweet was modest and accompanied by a hint dry chocolate. As the beer warms, the alcohol does pick up a rougher, more fusel, character. I found strong malty doppelbock character to be missing almost completely. A serious disappointment. Md thick body and modest carbonation.

Got this one from Higravity as part of a trade along with some Wild Goose Pumpkin Patch Ales.

Served in a Duvel tulip glass at just below cellar temperature.

A - Pours a medium bodied reddish brown color with a very nice 1.5 inch thick head composed of medium to fine-sized bubbles, all packed in a dense configuration. The head eventually settles to a creamy layer of beer-obscuring foam. Very nice.

T - Nice and malty right up front, with a wisp of earthy hops and a sweet fruitiness in tow. A dessert-bready character appears in the middle along with some of the alcohol notes. The finish brings a lingering yeasty tartness, and stale breadiness along with a nice warmth in the belly.

M - Puffs up to a slightly large rolling froth in the mouth, but avoids the tongue-numbing tingliness of overcarbination. Smooth, creamy swallow.

D - A nice representation of the style and a nice beer to turn to for those chilly winter nights.

So, I've been on this quest to find a marzen that I really, really like, and continually come up short. Why is that? No body, way too much yeast in the nose, and very little in the way of distinctive flavor. But I won't be denied. I keep trying and trying different Oktoberfests in the vain hope that I'll dig up a gem. Well, my prospecting absolutely blows, as I've been gem free in my quest. So tonight, I open the fridge with my lone bottle of Brooklyn Oktoberfest staring me in the eye and begin to reach for it. Then I remember, "Hold on a goddam minute! My boy higravity sent me a bottle of Subliminator Dopplebock from Maryland when we pulled off our trade a little while ago." I make an immediate course correction, reach to the back of the fridge and pull out this previously unknown (to me) gem. Course correction much appreciated, because I now realize that what I've been after all along hasn't been a marzen at all, but a dopplebock. I may just go on one massive dopplebock bender after this baby, as I think I'm in love.

Appearance: One of the few missteps with this beer, simply because the head is almost nonexistent, and what does appear disappears in second. The color, though, is absolutely lovely. A bit lighter on the Munsell scale than I'd expect, it's still a rich, light umber with some hints of red throughout.

Smell: Ahh...finally I don't get bitchslapped by the yeast. Just a pleasant malty sweetness in the nose when it's cold, and then one big ass-whoopin' o' molasses as it warms.

Taste: Cold, this thing is fantastic. All brown sugar and molasses, with just a hint of grainy bitterness in the finish. Lingering aroung the edge of my tongue is the alcohol, just reminding me that it hasn't gone anywhere. As it warms, the malts release their power and the alcohol definitely begins to take over the palate, pushing the brown sugar and molasses to the back. Unrefined would be a good way to describe this, but still damn tasty.

Mouthfeel: Seems just right to me, that's all I know. As it warms it almost takes on the texture of hot chocolate. Very, very nice.

Drinkability: Well, dammit, I sure wish I had two or three more of these. This beer was precisely what I was looking for tonight, and thank you, higravity, for making sure I had it. Great stuff indeed.

Initial taste is bold on the palate then eased off. That was similar to Andechs had several days earlier. This was however Barleywineish in taste and smell. Well malted and nicely carbonated. Nuttiness, breadiness, toasted malt. Dark colour. Medium mouthfeel. Nice, thanks drmeadows.

poured a deep copper with only sparse tannish head. Smell is dark fruity (raisins), malty. bready. taste starts off with strong note of alcohol with caramel and prune textures. As the beer warms the sweet malts really begin to show through and the alcohol subsides. Finish is still a bit strong for my taste. Tasted good, but one is definitely enough.

Poured a small, froathy, dark cream colored head that faded quickly to a ring. Very faint caramel malt aroma. Glowing dark copper colored beer. Malty caramel and a bit of butterscotch up front. The beer is quick to warm your mouth, and then your stomach. Finished with hints of peanut butter and yeast. Mouthfeel that is a bit thin, and low carbonation makes the flavor stick to the back of the tongue for a brief moment. I like the flavor and the low carbonation and warming alcohol go nice together. The lack of carbonation makes it look flat after a few minutes, but the color is perfect. I would definitely buy this one again.

This very noble effort unfortunately falls short of world-class status, but it's very worthy nonetheless. It pours a beautiful, crystal-clear, reddish-copper body beneath a creamy ivory head that holds fairly well before dropping to a standard collar and razor thin surface covering. What lacing is left about the glass is minimal.

The nose is enticing with notes of caramel drizzled, bready, and lightly toasty malts; as well as a very subtle note of alcohol.

It's lightly crisp and then smooth in the mouth with a dextrinous medium body and standard carbonation.

Well-rounded, and without too much alcohol, the flavor delivers all of the appropriate characteristics of the style including a bready and lightly toasty Munich/Vienna maltiness, a very delicate touch of dark-skinned fruitiness, and some floral hops. The firm bitterness is balancing, and in conjunction with its light wash of drying alcohol, it finishes dry with some lingering, dull malt, a flat bitterness, and some floral and grassy hops.

Thanks to cubedbee for this!
Appears a dark reddish brown with a small off white head that soon dissapears. Meduim streams of carbonation coming from the murkey bottom. No lacing whatsoever.
Smell is faint but there are notes of sugary malt with dark fruit like plums and concorde grapes.
Tastes of sweet, rich maltiness with some overripe fruit esters. Mouthfeel is decent. Starts right behind the front of the tongue witha sweet and sour taste that has it's own uniqe taste. It's certainly not a Celebrator by any means but it holds it's own. Comes close to being a great beer. Perhaps a sweeter, more balanced finsh could make this superb.

Finally... an American dopplebock that can stand with the best German dopplebocks! I didn't think I'd ever see that!

Subliminator pours a rich reddish brown with a finger and a half of short lived foam.

Smell was rich malt and fruitiness. Taste is slightly sweet, maybe not as sweet as you'd expect. Solid, rich malty flavor. Dark fruit flavors: plums, dates, raisins. Alcohol not as well hidden as most dopplebocks, but adds a welcome warmth. A little more hop bitterness than other dopplebocks, too.

Tingly carbonation initially gives way to a medium body. Very drinkable.

Absolutely the best American dopplebock I've had! Thanks to Higravity for the sample.

This beer is clear ruby red, with streams of bubbles bursting to the top and a nice thick beige head. Aroma is completely of malt sweetness. Taste was more of the sweet malts, but with undertones of some fruitiness (plums?). Can taste just a hint of hops on the finish, but that's enough to keep the sweetness from overwhelming. Beer is medium bodied and the carbonation is fairly low. Halfway through, I notice the alcohol a little in the back of my throat. This is a great spring brew, and I'm definitely going to pick up another 6pack or two to keep around the house while its still available.

This is a great beer. Big malty nose with a hints of noble hops, sweet malty body filled out with moderate carbonation at 7.3% the alcohol hides under the surface. Very easy to drink this beer and best on tap. I have waited 3 years for it's return and have bought out the local store of their supply. The deep complexity lingers after you swallow, different malty flavors surface and resurface. A true home-run from brewer Dan at Blue Ridge/Wild Goose. Get it while you can as this is being consumed quickly.

Very nice offering from Blue Ridge. Poured out a medium brown color with a nice 1 inch head that left nice lacing. smell was big malt sweetness, some caramel and alcohol were lingering as well.
Taste was a big malt hit, sweet and candy like with hidden hop thats there but does not do much and a nice smooth finish. Interesting that this one is only 7% but i feel some alcohol burn in the throat as I drink it. All in all i enjoyed this brew very much and would not hesitate to buy it again

A beer that is aptly named, the Subliminator is absolutely sublime. Poured a dark ruby red with minimal head and noticeably reduced carbonation when compared to most beers (or dopplebocks for that matter). The nose is sweet with a definite fruitiness (plums?).

The taste is the definining characteristic of this dopplebock, as it should be. Well balanced overall with the sweet malty theme expected of the style. Underlying tastes of plums and ripe raspberries help balance out the palate. Mouthfeel is incredibly smooth due to the low carbonation.

Missing the 3rd dimension including the spicyness that gave Salvator a perfect 5, but easily the best american dopplebock I have had to date. One that others will surely try to emulate.